Sur in English

"Yo soy de francés" is not an expression you hear much these days, and it will probably die out completely in a few years' time. "Yo soy" means "I am" and "francés" is "French" but those four words together mean "I went to school in the days when French was the second language taught in Spain, and as a result I only know bits of English picked up from the Beatles' songs". It might, sometimes, be used by younger people to mean "I am one of the few who opted to learn French rather than English" or, just possibly, "I went to a French school in Malaga", but that particular circumstance is more likely to be explained with "Fui al liceo francés".

AThe change from French to English classes in schools dates back more than a generation and the whole country now seems determined to make its schools bilingual - almost invariably in Spanish and English. Then there are the "Official Languages Schools" where English is more in demand than any other language, the private academies, and tuition at home - private classes for children who are not getting on with English at school as fast as their parents would like. English is also of course taught at universities and is often an obligatory part of non-language courses, and the latest institution to offer English (as well as French, German, and Spanish for foreigners) is the Uned, Spain's distance learning university. From next academic year the "Universidad a Distancia" will be including language courses in its prospectus, although face to face classes will be an essential part of the course and will be arranged to take place at times to suit students who are also working. No previous qualifications required!